Every weekday between 1 and 5pm we play tracks from our #spotlightartist. They’re an artist with a body of work which has stood the test of time. We’ll play the hits – but also some deep cuts. Listen ad-free through New Zealand via @tunein at https://goo.gl/VL6m3NS
With a name that must frustrate spell-checkers everywhere, Lynyrd Skynyrd have achieved recognition for bringing “Southern Rock” to the forefront in the early 1970s. Their hard rocking image was backed by the songwriting talents of leader Ronnie Van Zant. They formed in high school, their name being a mockery of teacher Leonard Skinner (who didn’t like long hair). They played live for a few years without much success before they were spotted by producer Al Kooper who produced their first album Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd. “Free Bird” off that album was a big success. Dedicated to Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers (who had died in a motorbike crash in 1971) the song became legendary through radio airplay. Their second album (Second Helping, 1974) went multi-platinum and featured the 70s standard “Sweet Home Alabama”.
The band released several more albums over the next few years until on October 17 1977 band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie were tragically killed in a plane crash. In those few short years however they produced quintessential Southern Rock. We look forward to enjoying a selection this week.
Rita Ora’s new album has been greeted with universal acclaim. Six years in the making (due to legal disputes with her label) a lot of the album feels familiar. This is a function of the streaming age, with singles being dropped over time. We’ve been listening to the late Avicii with Rita on “Lonely Together” and “For You” from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack for a fair while now but there are plenty of new treats here. NME described it accurately as “a confident pop gem that stands tall on its own”. We look forward to it this week.
Hozier – Movement
Mumford & Sons – Beloved
Lennon Stella – Fortress
Rita Ora – Velvet Rope
Lastlings – Deja Vu
The Fleet Foxes are an ‘indie folk’ band from Seattle, USA. Their first big impression was with their 2008 EP Sun Giant. Since then they’ve gained a great reputation building a body of beautiful melodic folk. To celebrate the recent release of their box set First Collection 2006-2009 we’ll be enjoying great music from across their musical career.
NOURI – Where Do We Go From Here
Jonas Blue, Jessie Reyez, Juan Magan – Wherever You Go
dodie – If I’m Being Honest
Leisure – Feeling Free
Tom Odell – If You Wanna Love Somebody
The Eagles have certainly had their share of compilations over the year. Recently they released a big box set of all their studio albums, three live disks and a collection of single cuts and b-sides. It seems a good excuse to enjoy revisiting the band from Los Angeles. Formed in 1971 the band went on to release six albums in the 1970s, spawning five number one singles, six Grammy’s and five number one albums. After breakup in 1979 (saying they would only perform together again if “hell froze over”) they got back together for 1994’s ‘Hell Freeze’s Over’ tour, which yielded a number one live album and video.
Only a couple of years after the smash hit album Evolve comes Imagine Dragons’ fourth album, 12 tracks of solid pop rock, written to conquer the charts. Although the singles don’t seem quite as strong as the last album this is still a great listening experience, if you enjoy melodic thumping rock.
Tarn PK – Talk To You
Galantis – Emoji
Kings – Carry You
Ellie Goulding & Diplo – Close To Me
H.E.R. – Carried Away